Saturday, January 16, 2016

The bears did try on there clothes, then they went over to grandma's house so she could check them over. It turned out that I had the clothes on the wrong bears. The pictures were taken before the clothes were changed but it is these three bears and these three outfits.

There were overalls and dresses.

There were hats and coats and galoshes.

And great grandmother gave them a finall before they climbed in their boxes for the trip to Texas.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

The pattern was published in The Workbasket Magazine Vol. 15, No. 4, January 1950.

Ravelry has the pattern listed and had a link to the pattern, but the link now goes no where.

We (Teresa and Dena) do get many requests for the pattern, usually from people who do not have an e-mail address that we can access. So here is the pattern. Actually two versions of pattern. The first is verbatim from the magazine. The second is Karen's version that Ravelry used to link to.

Teresa and I interpreted the last two rows as k2tog all stitches, doing that for each of two rows. So we had 36 stitches, then decrease row (18 stitches) then another decrease row (9 stitches). This made a nice end to the ear of corn.

Karen's version only decreases once at the beginning of each of the last two rows. Since I haven't knit this version I don't know what it looks like.

Knit an ear of corn penholder or a pair of them, using two colors of four-ply wool yarn, or the heavy cotton yarns now available, with a pair of knitting needles about size 5. A golden yellow with white for one and yellow and orange for the companion piece would make a colorful pair. Then there's blue corn, which alternates a purplish blue with white, or a purple and blue, or purple with white; all may be topped with leaves and hangers of green. One ear will require about 16 yards of the color and 20 yards of contrast, about 12 yards of green.

Begin with white and cast on 18 sets. Turn; in the next row, K 2 in each st, turn, on these 36 sets, k 2 rows in garter st -knitting every row.

For row 4, turn, pick up yellow or other contrasting color, and k 4 sts; drop yellow, pick up white and k 4 sts with it; k 4 sts with yellow again, carrying the yarn firmly across the back of work. Alternate, knitting 4 sets in each color and carrying the yarn of the other color across, always keeping it to the same side or back of work, which becomes the inside; always turn at end of row.

Continue in this manner until colored portion of ear is about 4 1/4 inches long. Work following rows in white only, next row even, then decrease by knitting two together; repeat the decrease row once. Cut a six-inch length of thread, and with needle, run it through each st; draw up tight and fasten. Sew edges together about an inch from the top and same distance from tip.

Leaf: With green, ch 20, sc back into each st of ch, sl st to 2 sets at beginning; this forms a looped stem. Ch 8, sl st into a ting; ch 3 to count as a dc, make 19 dc into ring, sl st to beginning ch.

Ch 6, turn and sc back for center stem of leaf, sc into circle. Turn, 1 sc, 1 hdd, 6 dc into side and end of leaf stem. Ch 3, sl st to dc, 6 dc back up other side, 1 hdc, 1 sc, sl st to center. Sl st into next 3 sets on center and repeat leaf. Make 4 leaves and sew this piece to top of corn ear.

NOTE BY Dena: When carrying yarn, you want to pull it tight, not at all like stranded knitting. Pulling it tight makes the rows of corn kernels. The tighter, the more corn like the knitting becomes. The looser the carry yarn, the less definition on your ear of corn.

Row 4: Pick up CC and k 4 sts; drop CC, pick up MC and k 4 sts with it; k 4 CC again, carrying the yarn firmly across the back of work. Alternate, knitting 4 sts in each colour and carrying the yarn of other colour across, always keeping it to the same side or back of your work, which becomes the inside; always turn at the end of each row.

Continue in this manner until the coloured portion of the ear of corn is about 4 1/4 inches long.

Each row will alternate colours like a checkerboard.

Next Row: With MC, K row, turn.

Next 2 Rows: K 2 tog, k remainder of row, turn.

Cut a six-inch length of thread, and with a needle, run it through each st; draw up tight and fasten. Sew edges together about an inch from the top and same distance from the tip.

Crochet Leaves with Green:

Looped Stem: ch 20, sc back into each st of ch, sl st to 2 sts at beginning.

Begin Leaf:

Ch 8, sl st into a ring; ch 3 to count as a dc, make 19 dc into ring, sl st to beginning ch. (20 sts)

Friday, January 1, 2016

I have so many pretty flowers blooming in my yard today that it is really difficult to fathom that it is New Years Day. We still haven't had our first frost of the winter down here in Atlanta. We had a few close calls, but no real frost yet.

The Camelias are blooming - not normal for December, but not totally unheard of either.

The Daphne usually blooms later in January or early in February, but again, not unheard of in early January (pretty much unheard of in December).

I had a Peace rose planted next to the last house we lived in and it bloomed once or twice on Christmas Day. I was told that it was because it was next to the house and it was very happy growing where it was. It was lovely and the folks who bought the house dug it up and tossed it.

This rose is not next to the house.

These are impatiens. They should be dead, not blooming.

This is not the fall blooming type of azalea - it is the regular spring bloomer. This is not the only azalea plant out there that is putting on a small show for me.